No. of MFIs

No. of Borrowers (thousands)

Total Population (mill.)

Poor Population (mill.)

Penetration Rates

Borrowers / pop. (%)

Borrowers / poor (%)

Aggregate LAC

714.0

13,824.9

552.5

168.1

Average in LAC Countries

28.6

553.0

22.1

7.0

3%

8%

Accion
One of the largest international microfinance Networks, Accion is an NGO that provides technical service and consulting. Headquartered in the United States, ACCION is an innovator in financial access, having pioneered many of the best practices and emerging standards in the industry. It provides a full range of technical assistance and management services, as well as investment and governance support to help financial institutions build institutional capacity and financial strength in order to serve low-income households. Its emphasis on commercial viability and institutional growth has helped its partner MFIs reach scale and financial self-sufficiency. Established in 1961 and a leader in microfinance since 1973, ACCION has over 45 years of experience in the field of international economic development. ACCION partners with 32 microfinance organizations throughout Latin America, the Caribbean, Asia and Africa. In 2008, ACCION and its partners served over 3.7 million borrowers, and since 1998 has loaned $23.4 billion to more than 7.7 million people. Website: www.accion.org
Regions of Operation:East Asia and Pacific, Europe and Central Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean, Middle East and North Africa, North America, Sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia

Association of Financial Entities Specialized in Microfinance (ASOFIN)
ASOFIN was established in 1999 as a private and non-for-profit organization. It is the network representing the regulated microfinance sector in Bolivia. Regulated microfinance entities are those that are under the supervision of the Superintendence of Banks and Financial Entities -SBEF- in the country. Currently, eight financial institutions are listed as active members, two of them are specialized banks, five are private financial funds (FFP), and one is a foundation that is in the process of obtaining its license from the SBEF.
Website: http://www.asofinbolivia.com/en
Regions of Operation: Latin America and the Caribbean 

The Caribbean Microfinance Network (CMN) CMN is an innovation of the MIF Microfinance Network of the Partners In Innovation Program (“MIF Microfinance Network”), formed on October 4th 2005. CMN takes into consideration the specific situation and special needs of MFI’s in the Caribbean who operate within island economies with relatively smaller populations than their Latin American counterparts.
Website: http://www.caribmicro.net/
Regions of Operation: Latin America and the Caribbean

Consortium's ONGÂ Supporting Small and Micro Enterprise (COPEME)
As a network for promotion of micro and small enterprises in Peru, COPEME works to achieve greater formalization, competitiveness and productivity of MFIs and their relationship with the local economies. COPEME develops programs and projects that improve sustained supply of credit services to promote microfinance institutions, SMEs, and local economic development.
Website: http://www.copeme.org.pe/
Regions of Operation:Latin America and the Caribbean

Développement international Desjardins (DID)
DID is a Canadian organization specialized in providing technical support and investment to community-owned and operated institutions worldwide. Its technical support services include drafting legislation for savings and credit cooperatives; setting up new institutions and organizing them into networks; introducing new financial products, and designing supervision strategies. In addition, DID’s investment funds provide financing and investment capital to microfinance institutions and to funds specializing in microfinance. 
Website: http://www.did.qc.ca/en
Regions of Operation: East Asia and Pacific, Europe and Central Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean, Middle East and North Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia 

Foundation for International Community Assistance (FINCA )
Established in 1984, FINCA is best known for having pioneered the "Village Banking method" and for leadership in microfinance overall. FINCA's birthplace was in Latin America, which remains the largest in terms of clients served. FINCA has become a leader in microfinance services for post-conflict societies and has been among the first to arrive to help shattered communities rebuild. The mission of FINCA International is to provide financial services (including loans, savings and microinsurance) to the world's lowest-income entrepreneurs. FINCA operates in poor communities that other microfinance providers have declined to enter, which results in one of the lowest average loan size in the microfinance industry. Headquartered in Washington DC, it works as a global network across four continents where it has wholly owned subsidiaries. The network reaches 735,000 clients in 21 countries.  
Website: http://www.villagebanking.org
Regions of Operation: Europe and Central Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean, Sub-Saharan Africa 

Freedom from Hunger (FFH)
Freedom from Hunger is an international development organization working in seventeen countries across the globe. In 1988, it developed the world's first integrated microcredit, health and nutrition education program. Today, it is best known for its ‘Credit with Education’ program that combines microfinance with health and lifeskills services and serves over 750,000 families in Africa, Asia and Latin America. It partners with more than 50 in-country organizations including credit unions, cooperatives, rural banks and NGOs to provide savings and credit facilities, and integrate education into lending services.
Website: http://www.freedomfromhunger.org/
Region of Operation: East Asia and Pacific, Latin America and the Caribbean, Sub-Saharan Africa

Grameen Foundation
The Grameen Foundation USA is a non-profit, tax exempt organization based in Washington D.C., USA aimed to increase MFI outreach and capabilities. The Foundation’s microfinance program support includes funding, technical assistance and training for MFIs. In addition, the foundation helps to secure financing through capital markets, develop strategies to attract and maintain a workforce, and social performance evaluation to track poverty alleviation while technology initiatives focus on helping MFIs increase efficiently and serve more people. Partners include MFIs, credit unions, cooperatives and poverty-focused organizations.
Website: http://www.grameenfoundation.org/
Regions of Operation: East Asia and Pacific, Latin America and the Caribbean, Middle East and North Africa, North America, Sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia 

International Network of Alternative Financial Institutions (INAFI-LA)
A network of NGOs from Africa, Asia and Latin America. It facilitates interaction amongst, and improvement of services and activities of member institutions, provides consulting services, and organizes regional and international seminars. It also maintains a specialized data bank on microfinance topics. 
Website: http://www.inafi-la.org
Regions of Operation: East Asia and Pacific, Latin America and the Caribbean, Sub-Saharan Africa 

ProDesarrollo: Finanzas y Microempresa
The Mexican network national network of popular institutions providing financial services that seek to contribute to economic development and poverty alleviation through the efficient allocation of credit, savings, advice and training to support sustainable development. ProDesarrollo brings together a variety of actors in the microfinance field, including institutions with different products, methodologies.Actualmente, sus miembros suman ochenta y seis organizaciones prestadoras de servicios financieros populares, del sector social y privado, que atienden por medio de mil setenta sucursales en todo el país a más de dos millones, doscientas milpersonas, de las cuales el 79% son mujeres. Currently, there are 86 members from the social and private sector, serving through 70,000 branches around the country more than 2.2 million clients, of whom 79% are women.
Website: http://www.prodesarrollo.org
Regions of Operation: Latin America and the Caribbean, Mexico

Pro Mujer
Pro Mujer is an international microfinance and women’s development network whose mission is to provide Latin America’s poorest women with the means to build livelihoods for themselves and futures for their families through microfinance, business training, and healthcare support. Pro Mujer supports the health of its clients and their families and helps women build their self-esteem. The network also links women and their families with existing resources and services in their communities. The Pro Mujer Network was founded in Bolivia in 1990 and currently in 5 Latin American countries: Bolivia, Nicaragua, Peru, Mexico and Argentina. $181 million in loans were disbursed in 2008, to 222,000 clients.
Website: https://promujer.org
Region of Operation: Latin America and the Caribbean

Red Centroamericana de Microfinanzas (REDCAMIF)
The initiative to create a network of Microfinance in Central America started in July 1999 and since then they have structured a number of coordination mechanisms between the networks of microfinance in each country to achieve its legal constitution by September 2002. REDCAMIF was founded with the aim of promoting the microfinance industry and its impact on economic and social development of Central America, as well as influence and promote political and regulatory standards that benefit and strengthen the microfinance sector in Central America. Its objectives are: a) to increase the availability of standardized information on MFI performance in the region; b) to promote investment in microfinance institutions in Central America; c) benchmark the performance of institutions in the region. The network covers 99 MFI affiliates with over 825,000 clients. Website: http://www.redcamif.org
Region of Operation: Latin America and the Caribbean 

Small Enterprise Education Promotion Network (SEEP)
Based in Washington, DC, the SEEP Network is a leading international network and promoter of best practice in enterprise development and financial services. Its mission is to connect microenterprise practitioners in a global learning community. Since its inception in 1985, it has worked to research and document best practices and convene key industry stakeholders in its well known annual conference. The primary way it undertakes practitioner-driven research is through working groups composed of its members which number 77 across 180 countries.
Website: http://seepnetwork.org/
Network Members: Regions of Operation: East Asia and Pacific, Europe and Central Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean, Middle East and North Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia 

Women's World Banking (WWB)
Headquartered in New York City, Women's World Banking is an international NGO Network, which provides technical services and consulting. WWB was established in 1979 to be a voice and change agent for poor women entrepreneurs. Its goal is to build a network of strong financial institutions around the world and ensure that the rapidly changing field of microfinance focuses on women as clients, innovators and leaders. WWB provides support, advice, training and information to a global network of more than 54 microfinance institutions and banks in 30 countries worldwide. Its network members offer credit and other financial services directly to more than 11 million poor entrepreneurs, 70 percent of them women. Members include 24 commercial banks and other financial institutions in the Global Network for Banking Innovation (GNBI).
Website: http://www.swwb.org
Regions of Operation: East Asia and Pacific, Europe and Central Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean, Middle East and North Africa, North America, Sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia

A Guide to Selected Emerging Markets for Microfinance Issuers and International Investors: Colombia

This guide describes the microfinance environment in Colombia as of 2009, focusing on capital markets, foreign investor considerations, and local implementation. As there is no standard regulatory framework for the microfinance industry in Colombia, WWB provides an overview of the Colombian capital markets, the government's role in microfinance, and key steps for microfinance issuers to issue in Colombian markets.

Published by: Women's World Banking

July 2009

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Cautious Resilience: The Impact of the Global Financial Crisis on Latin American and Caribbean Microfinance Institutions

This study analyzes impact of the global financial crisis on the microfinance sector in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC). It combines interviews of MFI and microfinance investment vehicle (MIV) leaders with MicroRate's own observations. The international financial crisis was quick to affect the financial markets of the LAC region. While MFIs already feel the effects of tightening credit markets the region took longer to feel the slowdown in the real economy.

Stauffenberg, S., Stauffenberg, D., Brown, S. & Effio, M.

Published by: MicroRate

Mar 2009

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A Study Analyzing the Effects of Food and Fuel Inflation on Microfinance Institutions and Borrowers

Has inflation increased loan delinquencies and risks? This microREPORT investigates the effects of food and fuel inflation on MFIs in Bangladesh, Haiti and Nicaragua. The study surveyed eight MFIs and 96 individuals including borrowers, loan officers and MFI senior management. It also drew on existing literature. Study findings indicate that costs have increased in all the countries at a far greater rate than borrowers’ income. The report states that MFIs are facing a dramatic increase in delinquencies. MFI borrowers face higher costs while incomes have largely remained the same. Sustainability of MFIs will depend on preemptive adoption of risk management techniques.

Rahman, R.

Published by: U.S. Agency for International Development‎

Jan 2009

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The Role of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) in Improving Microcredit: The Case of Correspondent Banking in Brazil

ICT-based correspondent banking model to scale up microfinance services. This paper discusses how the use of correspondent banking (CB) can help traditional banks partner with MFIs to improve microfinance services and microcredit in low-penetration areas in Brazil. It focuses on a CB arrangement between Banco do Brasil (BPB), a traditional Brazilian bank, and Banco Palmas, an accredited MFI. Commercial banks, with insufficient know-how in microfinance, cannot expand operations as it requires specific capabilities and business and technological architectures. The meso level in the financial system presents significant challenges which can be resolved with ICT. The CB model adopted in Brazil since 2000 has created an ICT-based channel that banks can adapt to scale microcredit delivery.

Eduardo H. Diniz, Marlei Pozzebon, Martin Jayo, Ewandro Araujo

2009

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Microscope on the Microfinance Business Environment in Latin America and the Caribbean

This paper describes a model of the microfinance business environment in Latin America and the Caribbean, developed by the Economist Intelligence Unit and supported by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and the Corporación  Andina de Fomento (CAF). It charts the industry’s strengths and weaknesses using an index created for this purpose. The 15 countries from the first year of the study—Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Mexico, Nicaragua, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay and Venezuela—are again included.While five new countries from Central America and the Caribbean—Costa Rica, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica and Panama—were added this year. This wider lens, along with shifts in the microfinance environment in individual countries, yielded many changes in the rankings, ultimately providing a deeper and more complete assessment of the industry in the region.

Published by: Economist Intelligence Unit, and Inter-American Development Bank and Corporación Andina de Fomento (CAF)

October 2008

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Banco Compartamos: Market Leadership Sustained by Superior Efficiency

J.P. Morgan's assessment of Banco Compartamos from an equity market perspective. This document confers Banco Compartamos S.A. (Compartamos) an Overweight rating and a December 2008 price target of Ps.60. The rating’s price target is based on a five year discounted free cash flow to equity analysis with a cost of equity of 11 percent and a long-term earnings growth rate of 6 percent. The rating team believes that Compartamos’ earnings estimates are conservative. It indicates that the company can perform better than the forecasts, given its higher pricing power and weaker asset quality of competitors. It also sees an opportunity for Compartamos to develop other areas of microfinance such as insurance and savings.

Partida, J. and de Mariz, F.

Published by: J P Morgan

April 2008

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Microfinance in Latin America and the Caribbean - 2008 Data Update

This note summarizes the results of a recent Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) survey of microfinance in the Latin American region. The survey included information on microfinance activities in 25 countries as well as an initial review of effective interest rates charged to microfinance clients. Interest rates are influenced by economic characteristics, competitive environment, regulatory environment, and institutional efficiency. The note concludes that there is substantial and rapid growth in the Latin American microfinance sector but with significant variations across countries.

Published by: Inter-American Development Bank

April 2008

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Implementing FATF Standards in Developing Countries and Financial Inclusion: Findings and Guidelines

This report considers the impact of the implementation of Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and Combating the Financing of Terrorism (CFT) controls on financial inclusion in five countries - Indonesia, Kenya, Mexico, Pakistan and South Africa. Key findings in the report include: Financial inclusion and an effective AML/CFT regime are complementary financial sector policy objectives; Imposition of AML/CFT controls have an impact on access and usage of financial services in the countries concerned; Countries are finding ways to limit AML/CFT risk while promoting financial inclusion. Based on these findings, the paper develops a set of guidelines to assist authorities in developing countries to design effective AML/CFT regimes that are compliant with Financial Action Task Force (FATF) standards and support financial inclusion. These guidelines advise regulators to develop a suitable domestic financial sector policy, follow a consultative and flexible approach, assess and define risk and reduce control for lower-risk transactions.

Hennie Bester, Doubell Chamberlain, Louis de Koker, Christine Hougaard, Ryan Short, Anja Smith, Richard Walker

Published by: FIRST Initiative

February 2008

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Financial Inclusion in Latin America and the Caribbean: Review and Lessons

This study surveys financial inclusion in Latin American and Caribbean (LAC) countries, gauging poor households’ access to credit and deposit accounts. Financial exclusion occurs when there is limited access and low demand for financial services from the general population; Supply-side constraints have secondary importance; Private sector has responded better to financial inclusion problems than the public sector, with profitable programs; Governments can play a decisive role in coordinating financial inclusion initiatives, leading normative changes, and supporting innovative banking outreach strategies without directly allocating credit. The review recommends that: Stakeholders should not be overly optimistic about the role that microfinance can play in financial inclusion; Microcredit must be carefully targeted and granted by specialized intermediaries under commercially-oriented criteria; Governments, donors and intermediaries should make coordinated efforts to assemble micro-data and encourage sound impact evaluations comparable across countries and time.

Ricardo N. Bebczuk

Published by: Universidad Nacional de La Plata

May 2008

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Benchmarking Latin American Microfinance 2006

This report examines the performance of Latin American and Caribbean microfinance ‎institutions (MFIs) in 2006, and explores trends in the microfinance sector.‎ Results include: Latin American and Caribbean microfinance continued rapid growth: the region’s MFIs increased their median loan portfolios by 50% due to strong demand for ‎financial services from low income clients.‎ MFIs attracted record levels of commercial funding, a large portion of which was in the form ‎of voluntary savings from the public.‎  Increasing number of loans relative to borrowers signified that more MFIs were making ‎multiple loans to the same borrowers, the result was a rise in average balance per borrower.‎ The report concludes that heavy competition will continue to encourage Latin American and Caribbean MFIs to diversify ‎their product mix in search of new growth opportunities,‎ The combination of larger, often riskier individual loans, and rising loan balances may lead to ‎higher delinquency, along with problems associated with over-indebtedness, Product ‎diversification may cause some MFIs to experience mission drift from their core social ‎principles.‎

Gehrke, M. & Martínez, R.

Published by: Microfinance Information Exchange (MIX)

November 2007

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